The cooling effect derived from disposing an elecrostatic discharge upon a heated body is a known phenomenon as evidenced by various publications including U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,485 to Oscar C. Blomgren, Sr. et al. It appears that little effort has been expended to develop the concept beyond experimental laboratory use.
The problem of overheating of high capacity disc brakes is well known, as for example, aircraft multiple disc brakes which must be capable of withstanding great quantities of heat generated by engagement of the friction discs in the course of braking relatively heavy, fast moving, aircraft during ground operation and which are normally enclosed in a wheel to such an extent that rapid dissipation of heat therefrom cannot occur. It will be recognized that excessive quantities of heat and resulting high temperatures imposed on the disc brake structure has the effect of rapid deterioration of the brake with possible disastrous results on the aircraft as well as crew members and/or passengers carried thereby. Various mechanisms have been proposed to cool high capacity multiple disc aircraft brakes as, for example, that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,403,759 issued Oct. 1, 1968 and 3,251,437 issued May 17, 1966. However, such prior art cooling mechanisms have certain characteristics which are not entirely satisfactory including space requirements, weight and complexity as well as manufacturing cost.
It has been found that the temperature of a multiple disc brake or portions thereof may be controlled to a significant extent under adverse braking conditions with a relatively compact, light weight and effective arrangement of simple electrical components whereby the brake components may be subjected to an electrostatic discharge to improve dissipation of heat therefrom and reduce operating temperatures thereof accordingly.